Exchange Fund Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (29 February) that the total assets of the Exchange Fund amounted to HK$4,046.5 billion as at 31 January 2024, HK$28.7 billion higher than that at the end of December 2023.  Foreign currency assets increased by HK$37.3 billion while Hong Kong dollar assets decreased by HK$8.6 billion.

The rise in foreign currency assets was mainly due to an increase in the month-end balances of unsettled purchase of securities.  The decline in Hong Kong dollar assets was mainly due to mark-to-market revaluation of Hong Kong equities.

The Currency Board Account shows that the Monetary Base at the end of January 2024 was HK$1,910.6 billion, increased by HK$14.4 billion, or 0.8%, from the end of December 2023.  The increase was mainly due to increases in the outstanding amount of Certificates of Indebtedness and the market value of Exchange Fund Bills and Notes outstanding.

The amount of Backing Assets increased by HK$20.0 billion, or 1.0%, to HK$2,119.7 billion at the end of January 2024. The increase was mainly attributable to the issuance of Certificates of Indebtedness and the interest from investments.  The Backing Ratio increased from 110.73% at the end of December 2023 to 110.94% at the end of January 2024.

Annex 1: Abridged Balance Sheet of the Exchange Fund
Annex 2: Currency Board Account

Hong Kong Monetary Authority
29 February 2024

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At present, four press releases relating to the Exchange Fund’s data are issued by the HKMA each month. Three of these releases are issued to disseminate monetary data in accordance with the International Monetary Fund’s Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS). The fourth press release, on the Exchange Fund’s Abridged Balance Sheet and Currency Board Account, is made in accordance with the HKMA’s policy of maintaining a high level of transparency. For the month of February 2024, the scheduled dates for issuing the press releases are as follows: